Still Standing
by Acherona
Summary: ‘I believe in forever and that’s what I’m going to have with Sasuke’. Funny that…how quickly the world can change and forever can be cut short …and how long the way back can be...
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer** - I do not own Naruto or any of its characters and I am not making any money of these writings.

**Beta'd** - As usual this is unbeta'd so please forgive my mistakes.

**AN** - _Hi there, it's me again with a new story. This is a plotbunny that jumped into my brain and dug its furry little claws into it and refused to let go. It simply demanded to be written._

"Woohoo" = speech

'_Woohoo'_ = thought

**Still Standing**

Naruto stood in front of the full length mirror that was mounted on his closet door and checked himself over as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. It wasn't like him to be this concerned with his appearance but the bastard was taking him out tonight and damn it he wanted to look good.

The blond pulled on his tie awkwardly and wondered if blue really was the way to go. The suit he was wearing was a uniform black, it was the only suit he owned and it could be worn on any occasions, from weddings to funerals. The shirt was white and to soften up the stern look Naruto had chosen a bright blue tie but now he was wondering if maybe silver or red would be better.

With a disgusted sigh Naruto stopped fidgeting with his clothes and after one lingering look in the mirror to check that his hair was somewhat in order he turned away from the closet and moved out to the living room. He had big hopes for the evening. Naruto and Sasuke had been together for almost five years now, ever since Naruto was sixteen and Sasuke seventeen and they had realized that the intense hatred they felt for each other might not be hate after all. Naruto had followed Sasuke to college and they had shared a dorm room. Not everything during the years had been puppies and roses during the years but Naruto really loved his raven and he knew that the Uchiha felt the same; Sasuke had always let him known that even though he didn't say it in so many words. The way Sasuke held him every night, like he was something precious told Naruto everything he needed to know.

They had just finished college now and while Naruto had gotten a job as a junior apprentice at a publishing company Sasuke was moving on to law school, preparing to go in his father's footsteps and become a defense attorney. As stated Sasuke had asked him out for dinner tonight, at the same restaurant where they had celebrated their three year anniversary and Naruto hoped that the raven was going to ask him to continue living together even after college and maybe even more. The blond looked down on his bare finger with a wistful look. He knew that they were young but he honestly couldn't see himself with anyone except Sasuke and they had been living together for years anyway so it wasn't like it was a huge step for either of them. Besides Naruto knew that they had their families approval, Iruka was happy just knowing that Naruto was happy and Sasuke's parents _adored_ him, he was even allowed to call them mom and dad. Not that he ever had, that would feel weird but he loved them like parents and would do anything for them.

Naruto glanced at his wristwatch and saw that it was still an hour left until he was supposed to meet Sasuke but he couldn't just sit here on Iruka's couch and wait, that would drive him crazy…Patience wasn't one of Naruto's greatest virtues. He got up from the comfy sofa and smoothed the suit trousers over his long legs making sure that they hadn't wrinkled. Walking past the kitchen he waved goodbye to Iruka who waved back while on the phone chatting away. Naruto's chuckled silently to himself as he walked through the hallway and opened the front door, his dad was the biggest gossip he'd ever met and nothing made Iruka happier than spending time on the phone chatting away with a friend. He was worse than a teenager but it was also a part of why Naruto loved him so much, he was one of the few constants in Naruto's life and the blond knew he could always count on his dad to be there for him…No matter what.

It was a nice night out and Naruto decided to walk to the restaurant, that way he'd kill time and save money on cab fare. It had rained earlier and the smell of rain was still in the air, its sweet, clear scent lingering and making everything seem fresh and new again. By now the clouds had drifted away and a yellow moon was slowly rising over the roof tops. Yes it really was a lovely night and Naruto looked forward to sharing its sweetness with Sasuke, perhaps they could take a walk by the river after they had finished their meal. They were both so busy these days setting up for their new lives that they rarely got to spend any time together, Naruto missed his moody boyfriend and he guessed that Sasuke missed him too if this date was anything to go by.

Naruto had just turned a corner when he saw two men trying to drag a young girl into an alley, the girl didn't look older than twelve or thirteen and she had a terrified look on her face. One of the men wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her along while the other smirked and leaned down to whisper something in her ear. Naruto looked around and saw that the street was deserted except for him. Where was everybody? It was early on a Friday night and yet not a single soul was in sight. Bracing himself Naruto squared his shoulders and moved towards the trio, if what he suspected was about to happen then he had to help, he couldn't just leave the young girl there now could he?

"Hey what are you doing?" He called out as he came closer. Naruto could see the unwashed hair of the two men, their dilated eyes and their shaking hands and he realized that they were most likely on something. The blond had never been into drugs but he'd been to enough college parties to recognize the signs. This close the terror in the girl's eyes was even more apparent but at the sight of him the fear was mixed with a desperate hope.

"Walk away pretty boy," The man holding the girl rasped out as he tightened his grip around her small shoulders. "We're just having some fun that's all, aren't we sweetheart?" The man's other hand came up and grabbed the girls chin, forcing her to look at him.

The girls eyes welled with tears and she tried to shake her head but the man was holding her still with the hand clutching her chin, she seemed too afraid to get a word out.

"It doesn't look like she's sharing your idea of fun, why don't you just let her go." Naruto moved forward with caution, hoping that he would be able to talk both the girl and himself out of this situation.

"We don't appreciate your meddling rich boy, why don't take that shiny suit and get your ass out of here alright." The other man slurred as he moved behind Naruto.

The blond cursed under his breath when he realized that these guys wanted a fight, he looked around again but the street was just as deserted as before. Naruto figured that since a fight seemed unavoidable he might as well get the upper hand so he whirled around and slammed his fist in the man's face relishing in the crunching sound the man's nose made. Blood poured out from the broken nose and the man brought his hands up to cup his injured appendix while yelling obscenities at Naruto. The man holding the girl got a mad glint in his eyes and pushed the girl away from him so roughly that she fell to the ground.

"Run!" Naruto told the girl sharply as the mad advanced towards him, clenching and unclenching his fists. The girl let out a broken sob and nodded as she shakily got to her feet and ran down the street without a single glance backwards.

"Who do you think you are, coming here and sticking your nose in other people's business?" The uninjured man hissed at him. "You lost us a tasty little treat and now you have to pay." The man launched himself at Naruto fists flying. The blond blocked most punches but the man managed to get a few lucky hits in. The thing that went through Naruto's head was how Sasuke would yell at him when he got to the restaurant for getting his suit dirty. Naruto gave as good as he got and he smirked when the man yelled out in pain and clutched his ribs, where Naruto's knee had landed a solid hit.

Suddenly a sharp pain hit Naruto in the middle of the back and he went down on his knees since his legs didn't seem able to support him anymore. Again and again he felt that stinging pain to his back and to his sides but he couldn't figure out what it was. Brilliant blue eyes looked around confused as he heard an insane giggle to the side of him. The man whose nose he had broken walked in front of him, holding the knife in a firm grip, its silver blade was covered in a red sticky substance and it dripped from the blade and on to the still wet asphalt of the street. Where had that knife come from and who had they been stabbing? Naruto tried to look around again but his eyes didn't want to obey him. Funny, why was he so tired? The man came closer, still giggling and brought the edge of the knife to Naruto's face. The knife cut into the soft flesh of his cheeks again and again and Naruto still couldn't feel a thing, his whole body was numb. The only thing he felt was cold, cold and tired.

With a heavy thump his body hit the street, his face hitting the pavement and dirt finding its way into the wounds of his cut up cheeks making them sting even more. He couldn't move but he felt wetness spread around him and wondered if it had started to rain again. Sasuke would be so mad that he would be late. Naruto closed his eyes; he just needed to rest for a moment, that was all. The water on the street colored a crimson shade from the pool spreading around the blond.

A young couple on the way to the movies found him and after the woman's scream echoed through the air luring more bystanders to the scene the man hurriedly called 911. Within minutes the sound of sirens blasted through the air and paramedics where working on the bleeding blond.

Things like _"multiple stab wounds"_, _"severe blood loss"_ and "_internal damages"_sounded through the air as they worked on him and lifted him on to a stretcher. '_No…Wait…What?'_ Naruto struggled to make himself heard but his limbs still wouldn't obey him. _'There had been a mistake, he wasn't stabbed, he was only resting before he would go and meet Sasuke. He was going to have forever with his bastard…Naruto believed in forever, just like Iruka had had with Hayate before the cancer had stolen him away and just like Sasuke's parents had…Like his own biological parents had before that drunk driver took them away from him. Why didn't anyone understand?…He needed to get to Sasuke!'_ Suddenly the voices around Naruto grew lower and lower until they were nothing but the faintest of murmurs' and the blond felt himself slip away, he tried to claw to consciousness but the darkness was so soft and so tempting. One of the paramedics found his phone in his pocket and looked up the in case of emergency number. No matter how many times he called this Iruka Umino though all he got was a busy tone.

"Hurry up, we're losing him here." A paramedic said and the ambulance was off with screeching tires and blaring sirens.

oo—oo—oo

In a restaurant a few blocks down a raven haired young man seated in a corned by a window table watched a speeding ambulance pass by but he didn't give it anymore thought after the blinking blue lights had disappeared from view. He looked down at his Rolex for the third time and his brow furrowed in irritation. In was typical of the Dobe to be late…The moron couldn't be on time for anything to save his life but tonight he had promised Sasuke that he'd be on time.

'_Tch.'_ That showed how much Naruto's promises was worth. Sasuke raised his crystal glass and took a sip of the crimson red wine within, savoring the heavy pallet of the liquid before swallowing in down and feeling it warm his stomach.

Feeling the bump in his suit pocket Sasuke pulled out the small navy blue velvet box and placed it on the pure white, Irish linen table cloth. Tonight was the night; he was going to ask Naruto for forever. Sasuke had realized early on that his life was nothing without the blond and tonight he was going to make sure that he wouldn't have to be without him ever again. Sasuke had even gone over to Iruka's earlier while Naruto was at work and asked the brunet's permission to marry his son. It had been a bit embarrassing when Iruka had just fallen in a madly laughing heap on the floor but still it was the proper thing to do and Sasuke was nothing if not proper. After Iruka had wiped his eyes and regained his composure the raven had gotten is permission along with a pat on the back.

Sasuke opened the lid of the small velvet box and looked at its content; it was a simple gold band without any stones or marking. It was without fuzz just like his blond and it was made to last.

The Uchiha looked at his watch again, forty-five minutes late, the waiters were beginning to give him the pitying looks of someone who had been stood up and the waitresses were moving in with flirty looks and heaving bosoms ready to console the handsome raven. _'Like hyenas to a fresh kill.'_ He thought in disgust.

Sasuke turned away from the room and looked outside the window again, admiring the yellow moon that was reflected in the wet asphalt. He snapped the velvet box shut and placed it back in his pocket. Five more minutes then he would leave, blond or no blond.

'_Where the hell is that Dobe?'_

The ambulance with flashing lights and blaring sirens had long since been forgotten.

**TBC?**

**AN** - _Please, please, please let me know if I should continue it or leave it as a one-shot. I know this is short but think of it as a testing of sorts…A test to decide if I should write more on this story or not…_


	2. Part 2

**Disclaimer** - I do not own Naruto or any of its characters and I am not making any money of these writings.

**Beta'd** - Again this chapter is unbeta'd so please overlook and forgive my mistakes.

**AN** – _First of all thank you so much by your response to the first chapter, I am humbled and in awe! I am so grateful that you liked it and that you took the extra time to tell me to continue. It meant so incredibly much to me and really inspired me to write more. I hope you like this part too. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please don't be afraid to let me know._

_Please enjoy!_

"Woohoo" = speech

'_Woohoo'_ = thought

**Still ****Standing**

**Part 2.**

Sasuke opened his wallet and gave the cab driver a few fresh, crisp bills that looked like they'd never been folded or in use before he stepped out of the taxi without a word and slammed the car door shut behind him. His hand made Italian leather shoes hardly made a sound as the eaves walked up the familiar drive way that led to Iruka's house. Sasuke had walked up this drive way more times than he could remember but it had never felt like this before. Not even the first time he came to pick Naruto up for a date and was interrogated by a suspicious Iruka for forty minutes. Sasuke smiled at the memory before settling his features into a frown again.

Sasuke was holding on to his anger for everything he was worth, if he would let go then he would be forced to recognize the coiling, clawing, searing fear deep inside him. The Dobe had been late many, many times before but not once had he _not_ shown up. If Sasuke only stayed angry then he didn't have to admit that something might be wrong. So therefore he bit his lip, furrowed his brow and thought about all the stupid, annoying and embarrassing shit Naruto had put him through over the years as he raised his manicured hand to knock on the worn wooden door with its peeling green paint.

Before the Uchiha's knuckles made contact with the wood it flung open and Sasuke had to jump back to avoid being hit in the face. When he looked up he was faced with a panic-stricken Iruka. The man's face was a sallow shade of grey that caused the scar across his nose to stand out like a slash of red. His usually warm brown eyes were dilated and unfocused. Iruka was clutching his white cordless phone so hard in his hand that Sasuke could hear the plastic shell protesting. The clawing monster inside Sasuke's gut awoke again and ripped at Sasuke's insides with sharp claws and poisonous words, something was wrong and the raven couldn't deny it anymore. Sasuke wanted to grab Iruka, shake him and demand that he'd tell him what was wrong and where Naruto was but his feet seemed to be stuck in place and his voice seemed to be locked inside him. Instead the two men stood there, both with dark weary eyes, just watching each other.

"H-hospital…Naruto…" Iruka finally managed to stutter out and Sasuke's blood ran cold.

"What happened?" Asked a raspy voice that Sasuke did not recognize as his own.

Iruka started to flail around the tiny hallway, looking for shoes and his coat. Sasuke realized that he wouldn't be getting any answers from the shocked brunet.

The Uchiha halted Iruka in his rummaging by placing his hands on the older man's shoulders.

"Which hospital is Naruto at?" He knew that neither of them was in any condition to drive and he needed to know where his Dobe was.

"St Anne's, they told me he's at St Anne's hospital." Iruka looked at Sasuke with wide empty eyes as the phone slipped from his fingers and hit the floor with a thump. "They'd tried to call me before but I was on the phone…I was on the phone while my baby was hurt and alone…" Tears welled up as Naruto's father broke down in a crying mess. Sasuke didn't know what to do; comforting others had never been a strong point of his. The Uchiha took out his phone and called for a taxi while he awkwardly patted Iruka on the shoulder.

A part of him wanted to scream and rage at the older man. Demand to know why he didn't have call waiting like any other normal person in this day and age and why he felt it necessary to spend his nights gossiping like a little schoolgirl…He held his tongue though, he knew that Iruka felt bad and guilty enough was it was. He also knew that this was Naruto's dad and one of the blonds' most important people…He couldn't yell at someone Naruto loved so much, because Naruto loved him Sasuke loved him too, that was just the way it was.

Sasuke sat down on the front steps while waiting for the taxi and he pulled Iruka along with him. He didn't even notice that he held the older man's hand in a tight grip as the two of them sat there in silence, waiting for the car that would bring them to Naruto.

oo—oo—oo

The cab ride had passed in a blur and Sasuke couldn't really account for how they had gotten to the hospital but here they stood in a busy, noisy hallway in front of a serious looking doctor, trying to find out news about Naruto.

Apparently the blond was still in surgery, blood loss, a punctured lung and swelling on the spine were some of the statements Iruka and Sasuke got tossed at them. None of these things made any sense to Sasuke; they were just jumbled up letters that couldn't possibly apply to his blond. Only one thing stuck in Sasuke's head…Multiple stabbings! Someone had taken a knife and driven it into Naruto again and again. Sasuke's mind was covered in a red fog just by the thought of it and his hands twitched. He wanted to fins the bastard who had done this and rip him apart! Even so the Uchiha stood docile in front of the doctor nodding as if it all was clear as glass. His face a blank mask with cold and hard eyes. Sasuke could sense that Iruka was less than pleased with his behavior but he didn't care, he was an Uchiha and Uchiha's didn't belittle themselves by getting emotional in public.

Sasuke and Iruka was told that the surgery wouldn't be done for a couple of hours and they were directed to a waiting area with vinyl covered chairs and snot nosed sniffling and crying children along with haggard looking parents and coughing old ladies. Onyx eyes looked around the room, taking in all the sickness and the heavy smell of hospital. This was hell, no doubt about it.

After a while of sitting and waiting Genma showed up, pulling Iruka into a tight hug. Sasuke was glad that Iruka's best friend and phone buddy had shown up, that meant that he didn't have to concentrate on the older man anymore, he could let his thoughts drift however they wanted. Sasuke hadn't called his family or any of Naruto's friends…He didn't want them there, chattering or trying to hug him and be comforting. There wasn't any comfort to be had until he had his blond in his arms again, safe and sound. People around him now would only be annoying.

Sasuke sat on his uncomfortable chair, his charcoal grey suit jacket bunched up in his lap and his white shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. A few black strands of hair were falling into his eyes but he didn't have the energy to brush them away. The vinyl in the chair made a half squeaking half farting sound every time he moved and that had caused the raven to sit completely still for the last hour and his muscles were beginning to protest, it didn't matter though, he would take cramping muscles over humiliation any day.

By now he was supposed to be at home, making love to his blond and watching how the gold ring on his Dobe's hand glinted in the live candle light. He was supposed to drink in the moans and pleas from kiss swollen red lips and see the desire and love in brilliant blue eyes, not be here and listening to a hundred year old hag coughing up her lung for the billionth time while waiting for word if his beloved would even make it or not.

The raven was woken from his musings by a soft clearing of a throat. He looked up instantly hoping to see a doctor but instead he saw a middle aged man and woman with their hands on a girls shoulder. The girl was thin as a rail with long brown hair and huge eyes; she looked as if she was just entering her teens.

"Excuse us," The woman said. "Are you the family of Naruto Uzumaki?"

Sasuke tensed but nodded shortly and Iruka, holding Genma's hand in a death grip stopped his crying into the dirty blonds' shoulder and looked up with red rimmed eyes.

"I'm Akumo Iijima and this is my husband Haruka. We are so grateful; Mr. Uzumaki saved our daughter tonight. She was on her way from a friend's house when she was taken by two thugs and dragged towards an alley. Who knows what would have happened to our sweet baby if Mr. Uzumaki hadn't stepped forward to help. Rika here said that there were several people before Mr. Uzumaki who walked by her but no one stopped to help."

Sasuke clenched his fists underneath the jacket. Of course the Dobe had to play hero.

The girl was pale as a sheet and she looked as if she'd been crying the whole night.

"I was so scared; those men were touching me and saying all kind of strange things. Then this blond angel came and saved me…and I ran away… Please forgive me! When that horrible man finally let me go the angel told me to run and I did. I ran all the way home…My mother called the police after I told her what happened but it was too late…The angel had already been hurt." The girl dropped to her knees and started to cry loudly. "I'm so sorry!".

Iruka released Genma's hand and walked over to the girl, wrapping her arms around her and telling her that it wasn't her fault.

Sasuke was rooted to the spot, he couldn't move and he couldn't speak. Despite everything he almost chuckled at Naruto being called an angel, his blond is many things but angelic was not one of them.

The small family left after being reassured that Iruka would keep them updated on Naruto's condition. The girl had been promised by Iruka that she could come visit once Naruto was better…_'If he gets better.'_ Sasuke thought cynically.

When the family was out of sight Sasuke released his clenched hand from under the jacket and slammed it against the armrest of the chair.

"I should never have agreed to meet him at the restaurant…I should have picked him up at home, then nothing of this would have happened." The raven said bitterly.

"You couldn't have known this would happen," Iruka said soothingly. "Besides Naruto saved that girl."

"I don't care about her!" Sasuke spat out, ignoring Iruka's shocked expression.

"I don't…I don't care. The one thing I do care about is in surgery now, fighting for his life…Nothing else in this shitty world means anything to me."

Sasuke got up from his seat and moved towards the vending machines, he wasn't hungry or thirsty but he had to get away from Iruka and Genma's accusing eyes.

After wandering the hallways for about twenty minutes Sasuke made his way back to the waiting area and saw a green clad doctor standing in front of Iruka. He hurried his steps until he got there.

Naruto was out of surgery and was in a stable but critical condition. He was hooked to a respirator to help him breathe. They weren't sure what would happen with the swelling on Naruto's spine, they just had to wait for Naruto to wake up before they could assess the damages. The lung had been repaired and he had been given blood transfusions.

Sasuke only heard about half of what the doctor was telling him, he couldn't concentrate. The one thing he did hear was that Naruto had made it through surgery, he was still alive. Everything else paled in comparison.

The doctor said that they could see Naruto, one at a time. Sasuke let Iruka go in first because when he got in there he wasn't planning on leaving. He would stay by his Dobe's side.

The raven had no idea how long Iruka was with Naruto, time had lost its meaning. When Iruka came out he gave Sasuke a long warm hug, Sasuke couldn't hug back because he knew that if he did he would break down and he couldn't afford to do that, not yet. Iruka gave him one last squeeze and said something about talking later, Sasuke wasn't really listening. His eyes were focused on the white door at the end of the hallway and what was waiting beyond it.

oo—oo—oo

The first thing Sasuke noticed when he stepped into the room was the pale ice blue walls and he cringed. His Dobe didn't like cold colors, he wanted them warm and comforting…not like this. The second thing was the machines, beeping and whirring, connected to his blond by lots and lots of tubes. Naruto had tubes in his arms, on his hand, in his nose, mouth and even some that seemed connected to his chest.

The blankets on the bed were a pure white, the hospital shirt Naruto was wearing was white and what little skin Sasuke could spot was white.

_No…no…no…no_! That was all wrong! Sasuke had to keep himself from backing away from the still figure on the bed. His Naruto was warm and golden and always in motion. Not this pale lifeless doll with a machine attached to him to help him breathe. This wasn't his Dobe…It couldn't be.

Slowly, with soft hesitant steps the Uchiha closed in on the bed again. He leaned down and brushed away a lock of bright blond hair from Naruto's forehead, feeling its silkiness between his fingers. Naruto's face was stitched up and bandaged and a bluish bruise crept up over the edge of the band aids adding some morbid coloration to the otherwise stark white skin. Very carefully Sasuke bent down and pressed a feather light kiss to his Dobe's forehead, it felt hot and clammy against his lips and the raven grew even more worried than before.

Sasuke's knees felt as if they were about to give out and he almost collapsed into the white plastic chair that stood by the bed. He wanted to hold Naruto's hand but with all the tubes and needles that went into his skin he was afraid to. Naruto looked so frail and small lying there, like a broken china doll. It was _wrong_ and it made Sasuke's anger come rushing back to him.

"You are such an idiot!" He hissed at the unmoving boy. "You had your phone in your pocket, why didn't you call the police instead of rushing ahead trying to be a hero?" You never think about your actions, always rushing into things head first. Use the tiny brain that you have."

Sasuke got up again and started to pace the room, his dark yes blazing. "Speaking of phones, what kind of moron doesn't have their boyfriend of five years listed as an emergency contact?" He whipped out his own sleek phone and held it in front of the unconscious blond.

"Look…Look! Whose name is that at the top of my contacts? _YOURS!_ That's right, that's your fucking name. You probably haven't updated your list since Iruka programmed that god damned phone of yours, thinking that nothing would ever happen to you…You're not invincible ASSHOLE!" Sasuke was yelling now his frustrations, fear and anger looking for an outlet.

"You're such a selfish bastard! When you walked into the alley, alone and unarmed did you ever think of me?" The Uchiha's voice cracked into a squeak at the end of that sentence. "Did you even pause to consider what would become of me with you gone?"

The anger vanished again, leaving behind that hollow awful feeling of fear and helplessness again.

"I can't do this without you Naruto…You're my strength, my life, my everything. And if you ever repeat this to anyone I'll deny it to the very end…" Sasuke moved to the chair again and sat down. His hand hovering over Naruto's hand not quite touching it but close enough to feel the comforting heat that radiated from it.

"Please…_Please_ Dobe wake up…Come back to me!" Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he had begged for anything and the words almost got stuck in his throat. He leaned down and placed his head very, very carefully on Naruto's so that he could hear the thumping of Naruto's heart. He needed that assurance that this was still his Naruto, alive and warm. Drops of water landed on the white blanket and Sasuke was surprised to find himself crying. He swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand but the tears kept coming. Finally he just let them flow while he listened to the steady _ba-thumps_ of Naruto's heart.

"Please, please, please wake up…"

**TBC**

**AN** – _Another part down. Will Naruto ever wake up and will he be okay if he does with the swelling on his spine and all? Next chapter the two druggies that attacked Naruto will be caught but guess which law firm it is that will post bail and defend them? How will Sasuke take those news? Thank you so much for reading and please review!_


End file.
